‘Teacher lured me to hotel and raped me’

Durban - A Durban teacher, who had gained the trust of one of his pupils, lured her to a hotel with the promise of access to her maths paper and then raped her.

This was alleged by the girl, who says she fell pregnant. She claims further the man forced her to have an abortion which was only successful after three attempts, two at an illegal clinic.

She said her ordeal started when the teacher confiscated her cellphone early this year.

When her phone was returned, she noticed she had received an invitation to chat on the social media application Whatsapp, and later began a conversation with the teacher.

She admits the chats were flirtatious but she insists there were no sexual overtones and said she viewed the older man as a confidant and talked about her troubled home life.

She said he showed concern, arranging maths tutoring and giving her money for food and toiletries.

One Saturday, after a maths lesson in town, the teacher texted the girl, insisting he was able to get an exam paper for her and that they should meet for a meal.

After eating, the two went to a hotel where they were to meet the teacher’s contact who had access to the paper.

Once inside the hotel room, the teacher’s demeanour allegedly changed. She says he locked the door and became increasingly forceful.

Telling her he had spent lots of money on her, the teacher demanded that she remove her clothes because it was time that they sleep together, the girl alleged.

She refused, saying she was not sleeping with anyone and would only do so when she finished school.

She claims her teacher insisted, saying he would not let her leave until they had sex and began to remove his clothes.

Weeks later the teen feared she was pregnant. She took a pregnancy test, which was paid for by the teacher, and it was positive. She asked the teacher for guidance.

She said he angrily told her to keep her mouth shut as he feared he would lose his job. He told her to immediately have sex with her boyfriend, so that he could be blamed.

Later he allegedly twice took the girl to an illegal abortion clinic in central Durban, where she was given pills for which he paid R300 each time.

His scheme unravelled when he tried to sneak the girl out of school for a termination and was allegedly caught forging the signature of the girl’s class teacher. The girl then told her story to school officials.

Sexual

When the principal was confronted with details, an apparent attempt was made to protect the teacher in question.

Months after the girl was forced to have an abortion, it is understood the teacher was suspended three weeks ago on charges of misconduct - having an affair with a pupil.

The teacher, whose identity is known to the Sunday Tribune, denied the allegations of sex with the girl.

“All of the allegations are completely untrue and I am a victim here. I do not gel with other people in my work place and they have now convinced this girl to make up the stories about me,” he said.

He denied that he had been suspended from duty.

The principal of Phambili High School, Lando Luthuli, refused to answer questions posed by the Sunday Tribune.

A teacher close to the school said that detailed correspondence between the teacher and pupil had been discovered on the girl’s cellphone.

Provincial Department of Education spokesman Muzi Mahlambi said that if allegations against the teacher proved true, he would be in deep water.

“Stealing exam papers and having an improper relationship with a student are both grounds on which we would dismiss this teacher. If the allegations, once tested, are proven to be valid, this teacher has signed his own dismissal letter,” he said.

“The department will take drastic measures in dealing with this man, we do not play games when it comes to matters such as this one,” Mahlambi said. - Sunday Tribune